inn

(formerly, in England) a college or hall of residence for students, esp of law, now only in the names of such institutions as the Inns of Court

Word Origin

Old English; compare Old Norse inni inn, house, place of refuge

Inn

/ɪn/

noun

1.

a river in central Europe, rising in Switzerland in Graubünden and flowing northeast through Austria and Bavaria to join the River Danube at Passau: forms part of the border between Austria and Germany. Length: 514 km (319 miles)

Old English inn "lodging, dwelling, house," probably from inne (adv.) "inside, within" (see in). Meaning "public house with lodging" is perhaps by c.1200, certainly by c.1400. Meaning "lodging house or residence for students" is early 13c. in Anglo-Latin, obsolete except in names of buildings that were so used (e.g. Inns of Court, mid-15c.).

in the modern sense, unknown in the East. The khans or caravanserais, which correspond to the European inn, are not alluded to in the Old Testament. The "inn" mentioned in Ex. 4:24 was just the halting-place of the caravan. In later times khans were erected for the accommodation of travellers. In Luke 2:7 the word there so rendered denotes a place for loosing the beasts of their burdens. It is rendered "guest-chamber" in Mark 14:14 and Luke 22:11. In Luke 10:34 the word so rendered is different. That inn had an "inn-keeper," who attended to the wants of travellers.